{"id":62772,"date":"2026-05-04T08:41:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T14:41:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/publicsquaremag.org\/?p=62772"},"modified":"2026-05-04T08:41:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T14:41:04","slug":"protecting-conscience-rights-of-physicians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/publicsquaremag.org\/health\/protecting-conscience-rights-of-physicians\/","title":{"rendered":"Protecting Conscience Rights of Physicians"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/picture> Download Print-Friendly Version<\/a><\/p>\n

Would you prefer to be treated by a physician who follows her conscience or one who does not?<\/span><\/p>\n

Most, if not all, of us would prefer a physician who follows her conscience. But the pressure is increasing for Christian health care professionals to choose between their careers and consciences.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether it is a medical student being forced to train to perform abortions, a pharmacist being asked to fill lethal prescriptions for assisted suicide, or a physician asked to administer anesthesia to a minor patient undergoing a sex-rejecting procedure, many Christian health care professionals are leaving the field of medicine, taking with them countless years of training.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This leaves fewer ethical, morally grounded health care professionals\u2014a trend that is dangerous for both health care systems and patients. With the growing departure of ethical health care professionals from the field of medicine, and the field of medicine increasingly untethered from ethics, conscience protections are necessary to sustain the participation of faith-based health care professionals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Tradition of Hippocratic Medicine<\/b><\/p>\n

Our culture is rapidly shifting away from the longstanding foundation of Western health care. For those who espouse the <\/span>Hippocratic tradition<\/span><\/a>\u2014to not kill the patient, to not give a pregnant woman an abortifacient, and to do no harm\u2014there remains a real threat of being made complicit in actions that they deem evil. Sometimes it may not be possible for health care professionals to separate themselves from these situations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, ideologies that reject the Hippocratic tradition have become pervasive. Society has elevated autonomy as a primary good: what the patient wants is presumed best, regardless of whether it harms the patient. There is little pushback against the ideas that prenatal life is inferior or that we should hasten death for those who have given up on life. This same rejection of the Hippocratic tradition is evident in transgender medical interventions, where subjective desires are allowed to override biological sex, resulting in the destruction of healthy, God-given bodies. Furthermore, the structure of our modern health system, like our broader culture, often pursues efficiency for its own sake, subjugating patient well-being.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, ideologies that reject the Hippocratic tradition have become pervasive.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>
\nServing on the advocacy team of the <\/span>Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA)<\/span><\/a>, the nation\u2019s largest faith-based professional health care organization, we help to advance policies at the state and federal levels to protect the vulnerable\u2014the unborn, those at the end of life, and everyone in between. We also advocate for the conscience protections and religious freedom of health care professionals, protections that are especially vital for those seeking to uphold Hippocratic traditions amid contemporary bioethical issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

Conscience in the Clinic<\/b><\/p>\n

Many Christian health care professionals are pressured to capitulate to patient whims, bureaucratic mandates, profit-first business models, academic requirements, or laws that challenge their moral compasses, driving them out of the field. Patient autonomy, in particular, has become a key component of today\u2019s health care. But not every \u201ctreatment\u201d a patient seeks leads to human flourishing. Some patients seek providers who will serve as personal vending machines, dispensing whatever is requested, regardless of its ethical or medical soundness. This dynamic subverts the role of the health care professional, who is supposed to exercise expertise in providing ethical, scientifically backed care to the patient\u2014not simply be the patient\u2019s puppet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our ethics, faith, and values should not be compartmentalized within our places of worship. They should be embodied within us wherever we go, including our workplaces. Health care professionals and students who follow Christ carry within them the gospel of truth that transforms patient care. They see both the immediate suffering and the eternal significance of the person. They see the patient as a person deserving compassionate care, whereas in the profit-first, secular care setting, the tendency is to see the patient as a problem to be solved with a checklist. Christian health care professionals also see and treat their patients as image bearers of God, worthy of treatment in accordance with the highest ethical standards.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Protections Needed<\/b><\/p>\n

So when should health care professionals be able to say \u201cno\u201d to requests that would violate their conscience?<\/span><\/p>\n

For one, they must have the right to refuse to participate in specific procedures or treatments that conflict with their professional conscience, such as treating the patient contrary to the Hippocratic standard. This includes being protected from having to perform or assist with abortions or help a patient end her life through assisted suicide.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They must say \u201cno\u201d when forced participation in a procedure would result in moral injury to the professional.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>
\nRelatedly, they must say \u201cno\u201d when forced participation in a procedure would result in moral injury to the professional. Every month, CMDA receives inquiries from students, residents, fellows, and practicing health care professionals seeking assistance after being asked to violate their consciences by providing a specific service. Some health care professionals simply quit or move to another state to avoid violating their consciences. Others have been fired, often resulting in lawsuits.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, no health care professional should be forced to choose between their life\u2019s vocational calling and their ethical, moral, or religious values. The Christian health care professional enters the profession to serve patients and provide care according to the highest ethical standards\u2014qualities that should be promoted, not punished.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Legislative Protections<\/b><\/p>\n

Legislation is vital to securing the conscience rights of health care professionals. Codifying conscience protections helps the health care field to retain ethical professionals who might otherwise leave or relocate to more conscience-protective jurisdictions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Supporting the moral integrity of our health care profession is in everyone\u2019s best interest. Whether they are medical students or physicians with decades of experience, CMDA members report that they are often mandated to refer for procedures that violate their consciences, becoming cash registers rather than caring health care professionals. Some of them have been discriminated against in the workplace for their beliefs, or they know other health care professionals who have faced discrimination for declining to participate in activities or medical procedures to which they had moral or religious objections. This is occurring to such a degree in multiple states and specialties of practice that some of our members are considering walking away from the field of medicine altogether rather than be compelled to violate their consciences.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our 2019 survey of 1,732 health care professionals <\/span>revealed<\/span> the depth of this crisis:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n